I have been dying to bake for a week now and finally got the chance today. But, since baking is a major danger zone for me I decided to make a mini-batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies! I made a small batch that made 9 cookies total. I didn’t want to bust out a recipe so I made this up as I went along…

Ingredients – Makes 9 Healthy Cookies

1/2c oats

1/2c whole wheat flour

1/3c brown sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

dash salt and cinnamon

1 egg

1 applesauce (snack pack size)

1/3c chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients, then wet ingredients. Drop spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. *I spray the pan to prevent sticking since the cookies don’t have butter. **You can’t eat more than a bite of the cookie dough since it doesn’t make that much. Yes, I eat the batter even though it has raw egg. Have you ever heard of anyone dying from eating cookie dough? If you ever do, it will probably be me and I won’t regret it.Let’s remember that these are healthy cookies and may disappoint Ben your significant other.

The whole batch on a plate! Dee-lish!

I didn’t just have cookies for dinner (not that I’m above that). I had some polenta left over from the other night and recreated that meal. I love cooked spinach with tomato paste and spices. Love it.

My afternoon snack was kiwi and a yogurt. I was hungry and also ended up eating a handful of Kashi crackers! Maybe two handfuls?

When I got home and started making dinner I thought I would be “good” and plate my snackage of Pirate’s Booty. But, let’s be honest and say that I ate handfuls of this stuff straight out of the bag too.

In other news…I’m going to Mississippi next week for work! I’m covering a story about a church building a house for a family who lost their home in Katrina. Exciting life of a reporter!?

After Caitlin asked about “What is a long run?” it got me thinking. I have always thought of runs in terms of distance, but over time my running has gotten a little faster (don’t get all crazy, not much) so I am running the same distance, but less time. I used to run 6 miles on my treadmill 5 days a week. I did 10 minute miles so it took me one hour.

Today I decided to run out 30 minutes and back 3o for a total of 1 hour – and I would just see how far that got me. I ran 6.7 miles – next time I’ll do 7 🙂 I need a new goal!

Breakfast was a new creation…

Chocolate PB Overnight Oats

This morning I added PB & cereal on top. It was really good, but didn’t change my life. I know this is sac-religious to say, but I think chocolate is kinda weird for breakfast (unless it’s a chocolate protein powder smoothie). Doesn’t it look kinda gross? It was good – I promise!

Well, after purchasing that massive can of chickpeas this weekend I figured I better start trying to make a dent in them!

The main players in this recipe were this massive amount of chickpeas (I was rinsing off), ww couscous and eggplant I cooked up in a pan with seasoning.

I saw a Chickpea Salad at Costco and took a look at the ingredients for inspiration. For the dressing I used: Concentrated OJ, Rice Vinegar, S/P, Cumin, Honey and Red Pepper Flakes. (I meant to add olive oil, but totally forgot.)

I mixed the cooked couscous, eggplant and chickpeas with the dressing and added green onions and a little bit of mixed veggies. I loved it! And I love that it was so easy!

You too can own 24 servings of chickpeas – only at Costco for $2.75. For real B.

Even though I was super full after dinner I really wanted to try this new ice cream I picked up on the way home. I have no self control. I just ate a cup of it…at least it’s good?

Conversation between Ben and I:

Ben: “What are you blogging about?”

Monica: “About how I eat ice cream even when I’m full and I’m just getting fatter and fatter and I want to die.”

Ben: “Okay.”

Ignore me, I’m just uncomfortably full right now and talking out of spite.

In other news…I need your help tomorrow with the first week of my Intuitive Eating Challenge – please stay tuned tomorrow morning 🙂

I have been thinking about making PB & Banana Stuffed French Toast for a while now, but haven’t had the time – until today!

With PB, eggs and whole grain bread – this meal is perfect when you need a super filling and delicious breakfast! (I am usually a hungry beast all day the day after a long run so hopefully this will keep me full for a while.)

First I made a PB & Banana sandwich on whole wheat. I sprinkled it with cinnamon too. *I put PB on both slices of bread to make it stick together.

Then, dip it in the eggs… cook on both sides until brown.

PB & Naner Stuffed French Toast!

I drizzle it with maple syrup (it doesn’t necessarily need it, but it makes it better!). You can also just dust it with powdered sugar.Amazing. Seriously, amazing. Like I said, I am usually a hungry caterpillar all day on Sundays after a long Saturday run, but the combo of fats, protein and whole grains make this a filling breakfast!

Happy Sunday! We have a lot of errands to run, hoperfully we will get them done and we can finally see Food Inc. I could have seen it at a theatre next door to my yoga studio in Orange County, but I missed that boat and now have to go all the way into D.C.

>Yesterday I topped it with a yogurt/lemon juice/dill/S&P sauce, but I wasn’t so into that. I think most people would enjoy it though!

See, it’s super easy!

Today I made overnight oats since we bought the Costco container of oats this weekend! I set oats, greek yogurt, a lot of blubes and raisins overnight. This morning I added a dash of sugar (because I used plain yogurt), cereal and granola. It was good, but didn’t make me full for some reason?

I was hungry for lunch by 10:30am, but I made myself wait. I packed AB&J on an english muffin. It was good, but small. I think I need a more substantial sandwich. I felt better when I made them on “real” bread.

I also put salad in a hummus container that was almost empty and used the hummus on the bottom as dressing.

An apple rounded out the meal, but I still wasn’t full.

So, I ate half of this bar…

My afternoon snack was carrots and trailmix.

But, since my “hungry” day continued I ate the rest of the bar. I was mad at myself for eating it because I couldn’t tell if it was stress eating or what, but I decided to just observe my behavior without judgement and learn about myself.

I had a handful of bluebs when I got home (no pic)

Dinner was the exact same thing as last night. I added a lot more broccoli tonight for volume!

Now I am munching on cherries and hoping to feel full any second now…

On the home front…my mom said she is going to buy me a ticket to visit CA over the weekend in October 🙂 Yes! It will probably be just Friday to Sunday, but I’m excited!!!

I actually got this recipe from a blogger about a year ago. She has since retired from blogging 😦 so I can’t give her a shout out. Actually, I also found it while googling, so I think it’s pretty well known already!